Weaving together various observations and musings -- usually pertaining to aspects of Hong Kong (life) but sometimes beyond.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

What I had for lunch this weekend... ;b

Polo char siu pau = a combination of two famousHong Kong food items= a really special kind of bun

Tofu that's spiced and crusty on the outside and creamily soft inside

The climate in Hong Kong is classified as sub-tropical. Generally speaking, this seems to translate into the Big Lychee having months that are cool and dry or hot and humid -- with not much of what would be considered a transitional autumn or spring in between. And while it's not unheard of for there to be several days that are superhot and humid but not truly wet, it's not all that usual for cool winter days to also be stormy.

Unfortunately for my hiking plans this weekend, however, this Sunday (the day I usually go hiking) has been one that's seen a lot of rain. So rather than have one foodie lunch this weekend (as is usually the case), I ended up having two!

More specifically, for lunch yesterday, I went and tried out Ten Jaku, a Japanese sushi restaurant in Causeway Bay that is considered a good middle-range bet for sushi in Hong Kong, with a major foodie friend. Then, although our stomachs were quite satisfactorily satiated (and I was personally pretty pleased with the quality toro (fatty tuna) and ikura (salmon roe) that had been included in my sushi set), she insisted on taking me to her favorite durian dessert place nearby -- whereby we proceeded to happily polish off a ice cream concoction that strongly smelt as well as tasted of that which Malaysians think of as the king of fruits!

But although Saturday's lunch may sound like a feast, it pales in comparison to what I had today with an uncle and aunt visiting from Penang: dim sum at Victoria City Seafood Restaurant that included the two dishes in the photos at the top of this entry -- the top most of which is has an exterior that's like the sweet po lo pau (pineapple bun -- so called because its crunchy top has patterns that look like a pineapple's to Hong Kongers) in taste and texture but has the bonus of having chunks of char siew (roast pork) inside it.

Sadly, however, the Shanghai crabs season looks to be over. So unlike the last time I had dim sum there, I couldn't have one of the restaurant's pieces de resistance: xiao long bao with Shanghai crab roe inside. Instead, I had to "settle" for just the regular xiao long bao along with six other dishes -- a major benefit to not dining alone or just with one other person but, instead, two people. And being fellow Penangites to boot, of course they love their food too and thus were happy to partake of a real variety of dim sum delights... ;b

Re the durian dessert place: Don't kill me but I don't have the exact address (and it's only got a name in Chinese characters -- and yes, the menu is only in Chinese... but "lau lian so-kou" translates into durian ice cream.). But if you walk half a block east of Canal road on Lockhart Road, you should see it on the northern side of the road...

Hi Diana --

I like both those dishes but if pressed to choose, I'd go for the polo char siew pau too. Have you tried just a plain polo pau that's hot/just out of the oven? If not, give it a try and I reckon you'll like that enough too. :)

Hi hcpen --

I'm glad it looks good. I worried that it wouldn't look good enough for people to get a sense how great it tastes. :)